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Assassin's Creed May Become An Annual Phenomenon

Assassin's Creed seems to be the only franchise that can weather the Call of Duty storm on an annual basis.

When Modern Warfare 2 launched in November of 2009, Assassin's Creed II arrived at almost exactly the same time and ultimately managed to sell around 9 million copies. This was when most other titles ran away from MW2. This year, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood didn't shy away from Black Ops - again, both titles released at about the same time - and all indications are that Ubisoft's latest will be another smash hit. So why not go for another entry in 2011? Well, the publisher wouldn't confirm anything specific but according to company CEO Yves Guillemot (speaking at a financial briefing call), we'll get AC "something" in 2011.

"There will be something around Assassin's. That's the only thing we can say."

Ubisoft did reinforce their "ultimate goal" to make the series yearly; i.e., new iterations for the holiday season every year, just like Call of Duty. Guillemot wouldn't commit to ACIII in 2011 but at least we know it's a possibility. They may not make it in time, though, because although Brotherhood is the completion of Ezio's story and was already written even before ACII released (or so said the development team), we doubt much of anything is written about ACIII, which will feature a new character, storyline and - we're assuming - age.

True but Uncharted 3 will likely be 10 to 12 hours, not 40 and Uncharted isn't likely to see a annual release. I know what you mean, but ACII didn't differ all that much from 1 and Brotherhood seems to be more of the same(from what i have seen, i do plan on picking it up once its cheaper). All im saying is they are going down the road of Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. People tend to get burnt out.Last edited by Jawknee on 11/26/2010 12:01:24 PM

I kindaa agree with Jawknee here. Not so much about the "same stuff", I do believe that quality may suffer if they start pushing them out every year.

Besides, there's the freshness factor. Yes, Uncharted 3 will have the same platforming, shooting and a treasure hunt at the stake of mortal peril type story, but I'm itching to find out more about it. Would I be as egar about it if it was a yearly affair? I'm not so sure.

I played through Modern Warfare 2 and loved it, but I'll probably buy my next Call of Duty game in 2012.

I played them both though I didn't finish 1. At their core, not much has changed. Both of you new exactly what I meant. Besides, thats not my problem with the game, releasing them once a year is. They're going to wear it out.

did not differ much from one?you truly are INSANE!change of location.change of character.complete overhaul of combat system.complete overhaul of climbing system.complete overhaul of mission structure.complete overhaul of story.complete overhaul of side missions.addition of 2 hidden blades, and several other weapons.addition of upgrades.addition of being able to upgrade your stores, and your home.thats not enough of a differentiation from the original?AC2 = masterpiece!ACB = buggy, disappointing, short, masterpiece!

I'd like to see one of these game producers deliver a game at say $40 for the basic game, and then release additional $20 episodes for the game every 3-6 months. I mean, once you have an excellent game engine, there's no need to continue tweaking it as heavily as you would if you were developing an entirely new game. Instead, production companies could focus on the content creation instead of the technology.

Look at Uncharted, for example. That game is crying out for episodic content similar to the kind of thing that movie serials of yesteryear. If you are old enough, or love film, you'll be aware of things like the Tarzan, Flash Gordon, or Superman movie serials that were produced during the golden age of cinema. There were numerous examples of these movie serials that acted as appetizers for the main feature, and were enjoyed on Saturday morning by generations of kids in the cinema equivalent of re-runs.

I think that there is a place for this kind of game in today's world. It's not the same as MMORPGs with their content updates and subscriptions. I'm talking about single player content. Say a game that includes 20 hours of play at launch and every 3-6 months another 10 hours or so of new content is delivered for $20. It could be new story, new characters or even new settings. Assuming that the release schedule was regular enough, it could even include cliff-hanger endings just like the old movie serials did. In fact, the Uncharted online comic thing Eye of Indra (or whatever it was called) is the kind of thing I'm getting at - only in game form, not comic strip or graphic novel.

Then again, I do like a 18-24 month gap to allow my desire for a new episode for a game to recharge...

Very, very good idea! AC2 could handle episodes that can consume another 5 hours of my life. I'm probably going to pass on brotherhood for the time being, but that has nothing to do with its appeal to me.

I keep thinking back to the poll we had on here about how many games we'll buy through the end of the year. Other than a few psn games, I'm done buying for this year and perhaps a couple months into 2011. I did so many side quests in AC2 that I never buttoned up the game. I'd say the second game offered far more content (that interested me) than the first, which I loved as well despite glitches.

As long as they stick to quality storyline, I'm not one to be bothered by more from this series. Highlander, your idea would be a fantastic way to expand this series without it becoming overkill...

1. I would bet that a new disc will sell much better than all the DLC combined...maybe not in a few years, but today almost certainly.

2. People will complain that "they should have the full game on the disc". Heck, I don't mind DLC and like the model you propose (it's reminiscent of table top RPGs), but I still wait to buy the GOTY edition of games like Fallout so that all the content is on the disc.

Maybe the mainstream doesn't care, but to me that kind of schedule just bespeaks laziness. It means there will be no real improvements or changes from game to game, just a reskin with a new story. Better known as an expansion pack sold at full price. The difference between Uncharted and Uncharted 2 was almost night and day. So far, while people love Brotherhood, they seem to be saying the difference from ACII is like night and... later that night.

i swear to god if assassins creed turns into a yearly addition i will personally assassinate every single ubisoft employee responsible for it!and in a way so scary and grotesque, it would make splatterhouse look like a nursery tale!they already brought down brotherhood is that not enough?ubisoft are starting to turn into antivision, $E and crapcom!start a series, improve on it massivley than when it gets popular change it and turn it to half what the series was.

once for every year = directly to the road of fail, period. this applies to all games.

people have to understand, more of the same over and over and over and over and over again = fed up and sick of it.

just like u eat the first lobster, probably pretty good, when eat the 10th one, u will get sick of it. same applied here. didnt they have brain to think? seems still blinded by the greed and money it generates. this decease infects all the people in all industries this era.

nothing more to sayLast edited by BigBoss4ever on 11/27/2010 10:19:46 AM

Oh well, Assassin's Creed 1 was the ONLY game of the series that actually had a worthwhile story, AC2 and Brotherhood was all about Quantity over Quality, which even though I am ashamed of Ubisoft, yet still played them. I'm probably going to stop buying AC games, Assassin's Creed should just fu**ing end with the next game.....

Ubisoft Made AC1 then a Bloodlines for PSP, some crappy DS game, then AC2, then Brotherhood, after that really all they should fu**ing do is AC3 then END IT. Ubisoft is slowly becoming EA and/or Activision.

Personally, I can see how this series has the potential of being "milked". For all we know, it already is. (AC1, AC2, AC:Brotherhood, AC:Bloodlines, AC:Altair's Chronicles, and soon, AC:3DS)Ubisoft has truck gold with the Assassin's Creed series.

Ubisoft should release a sort of mini-series in-between each numbered Assassin's Creed game. My idea borrows what Rockstar Games did with Grand Theft Auto: IV. They released "Episodes" which surround different characters, while still maintaining the same GTA look and feel. Ubisoft could sell these 'episodes' in retail stores at low prices. (Such as $39, instead of $59)The main goal of this is to keep players entertained in-between the major Assassin's Creed titles. (AC3, AC4 etc)Each 'episode' would continue the story of the last, creating a sort of episodic mini-series.They are of course optional, and do not continue the main story of the 'numbered' AC games.

I like the AC series as much as anybody but I definitely don't want it to become an annual thing. I don't mind waiting two or three years between games if it means we get the best product possible. The game being released annually doesn't mean it will end up bad but I do think for a game that is a bit story driven like AC benefits from having two+ years in between the new installments.

They need to be careful with that. People love Assassin's Creed, and that's exactly why Ubisoft should be careful not to saturate the market. That's part of what's made Sonic brand so unsuccessful in recent years. In addition, I don't think they should set such schedules for themselves. I'd rather wait a little longer and have an AWESOME game than have a sucky game on time. They need to be careful not to sacrifice the quality of the game for an annual release date.

I for one hope this doesn't happen. While I like AC series and its potential, it's just not that high up in my priority list. Killzone, Uncharted, LBP and (worthwhile) CoDs are on the higher tier for me (yeah i know, some are gonna say when was the last worthwhile CoD, but in my opinion its been pretty good albeit not great)In doing this, it will set me back so much in terms of story and I'll have a tough time to follow.

Wow, this news slipped right beneath me. I know the dedicated fans may dig this news but I don't. I just think in most cases over saturation isn't a good thing.

And while they're rushing to make their annual commitment, hopefully, they find time to scrap the crap combat system and make something that isn't so clumsy and funny to watch for half the time.

I just don't think the super human melee thing works well for this style of game. It creates a discontinuity for the format of the game's design. It goes from stealth action to a highly stylized super human combative Ezio action. The more modernized stealth series, Splinter Cell, kept Sam Fisher pretty believably human throughout each game. He'd die with a few pops pretty easily so engaging a group of thugs head on was usually never the best course of action. Conviction changed things up, but convincingly made Sam more powerful by using a stylized execution component. But I just can't shake the vibe that Ezio is an assassin who is supposed to be indirect (like he is most of the game) not a dude who, at times, can be placed in scenarios where he can lay out 6-8 dudes on his own. And it plays out pretty clumsy at that.I also don't think this is nit-picking as it's a component of the games play that presents a learning curve and several missions that lean on this component directly.

To those that believe AC2 was supremely better than AC1 I have to disagree. AC1 had the much better story, the better final boss fight, and a better lead character. Altair was way more intriguing than Ezio. AC2 had more content and Lionardo de Venci but thats about it.